The Police IndexStop data: 2024 · Pay and hiring checked Nov 2026

What the job looks like at La Mesa Police

73 swornStarts at $112,153Hiring new officers nowApplicant Score 85
Calls for service
At least 274 a day

Over 100,000 a year. Undated figure on the department page. Officers also stopped 4,630 people in 2024. Most common reason for a stop: other suspected crime, 16%.

First assignment
Patrol
Busiest hour for stops
8am to 9am
26% of stops are overnight
2nd of 11
Stops that came from a call
28%
The rest the officer started
2nd of 11
Median stop length
10 min

What La Mesa Police officers stop people for

Red light, stop sign or traffic sign15%
Speeding11%
Phone use while driving9%
Lights, tint or equipment8%
Registration, plates or insurance7%
Lane, turn or right-of-way violation5%
Mental health hold4%
Consensual contact with a search4%
Domestic violence2%
Theft, burglary or stolen property2%
Everything else33%

The main reason recorded for each of 4,630 people stopped in 2024, grouped from the offense code. Service calls with no detention are not in this data.

When the work happens

26% of stops happen between 10pm and 5am, 2nd of 11.

La Mesa Police
Average of 11
12am3am6am9am12pm3pm6pm9pm

Darker means a larger share of stops in that hour.

How the work is done

Each dot is one of 11 departments. La Mesa Police is highlighted.

On foot35% 5th of 11
0%20%40%
For a traffic violation60% 8th of 11
0%20%40%60%80%100%
After a call for service28% 2nd of 11
0%20%40%
Person perceived as unhoused6% 5th of 11
0%20%40%

How stops end

Verbal warning28% 10th of 11
0%20%40%60%
Citation36% 5th of 11
0%20%40%
Arrest22% 1st of 11
0%20%40%
Psychiatric hold4% 1st of 11
0%20%40%

One person can have more than one outcome, so these do not add to 100%.

When a stop starts with a call

Ends in arrest56% 1st of 11
0%20%40%60%
Ends in a psychiatric hold15% 4th of 11
0%20%40%

Searches and handcuffs

Person searched26% 1st of 11
0%20%40%
Handcuffed24% 2nd of 11
0%20%40%
Agencies differ in how consistently they record handcuffing and searches, so small gaps between departments may not be real.

Sources, checked Nov 13, 2026: Department page · PD Recruiting page · The Hiring Process page · Recruiting FAQ · Police Officer Trainee posting · Police Officer Lateral/Academy Graduate posting · City salary schedule, Police FY 2027 · Police Officers' Association MOU 2024-2027 · Sworn and non-sworn benefits summary, January 2026 · Department policy manual · 2025-2027 Final Budget · POST Work Sample Test Battery manual · California DOJ stop data, 2024

Agency colors not applied yet. They are only used once pulled from the agency's own site.

Photo: Lake Murray, La Mesa and El Cajon from the air. Aerial - San Diego County, CA - Lake Murray, La Mesa, El Cajon.jpg by Joe Mabel, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and tinted.

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